World News - Record numbers in Michigan seek food stamps, other assistance

About 1.9 million residents in economically struggling Michigan are receiving government food assistance, the highest number here in the more than 40-year history of the federal food stamp program and more than in all but five states. The cost of providing the food stamps for Michigan families grew to $1.24 billion last year, up 145 percent from just five years earlier. And the government estimates that more than 300,000 residents who are not receiving assistance could qualify for it. ``We've seen a pretty steady climb since December 2000 and it's gone up by a few thousand cases each and every month,'' Maureen Sorbet, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Human Services, told The Detroit News for a Monday story. ``There must be a time when we reach the saturation point, but it's difficult to determine when that will be.'' The numbers of people relying on nongovernment food banks, pantries and shelters for food needs are also growing. ... http://wfrv.com

A US laboratory set up to study ESP and telekinesis is to close at the end of the month, ending a strained 30-year relationship with the scientific world. Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research lab (PEAR) was set up in 1979 to examine human consciousness and its affects on computers and machines. Founder Robert Jahn, 76, said the lab, with its ageing equipment and dwindling finances, has done what it needed to. Many scientists have been dismissive of the Princeton University-based unit. A typical PEAR experiment had a person sitting in front of an electric box which flashed numbers just above or below 100. The participant would be told to "think high" or "think low" as they watched the display. Researchers concluded that people could alter the results in such machines about two or three times out of 10,000. PEAR says such effects could be "functionally devastating" for people working in aircraft cockpits, surgical facilities and even ICBM missile silos. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6353941.stm

A bookkeeper pleaded guilty Monday to embezzling $6.9 million to pay for such things as a ranch in Vermont, a life-size statue of Al Capone and a private performance by singer Burt Bacharach, federal authorities said.Angela Buckborough Platt, 43, pocketed the money over six years while an accountant for J & J Materials Corp. in Rehoboth, Mass., federal prosecutors said. She was charged with one count of interstate transportation of stolen property.Under the plea deal, Platt, formerly of Cumberland, R.I., and now of Wyoming, Pa., must pay back all of the money, and prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of at least four years and seven months. The charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine.Prosecutors said Platt - who made $40,000 a year - wrote checks from company accounts to herself and eventually began writing checks for nearly $50,000. Her theft was discovered in June by another bookkeeper....http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BOOKKEEPER_EMBEZZLEMENT?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

The Department of Veterans Affairs began notifying 1.8 million veterans and doctors Monday that their personal and business information could be on a portable hard drive that has been missing from an Alabama hospital for nearly three weeks.The hard drive may have contained Social Security numbers and other personal information from about 535,000 individuals and billing information on 1.3 million doctors nationwide, the VA said. That's more than 37 times more people than authorities initially believed were affected.An employee at the VA medical center in Birmingham reported the external hard drive missing on Jan. 22. The drive was used to back up information on the employee's office computer. It may have contained data from research projects, the department said.U.S. Rep. Artur Davis questioned why it took the agency so long to begin sending out notification letters....http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SECURITY_BREACH?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

Reports from New York state say 10 days of heavy snowfall has left snowdrifts of up to 12ft (3.7m) deep - a record if confirmed by meteorologists. A state of emergency has already been declared in and around Oswego county, with squalls leaving behind at least 7ft (2.1m) of snow in the area. At least 20 deaths have been caused by persistent snow bands across the US. The snowfalls are expected to peter out forecasters have warned of more snow in upstate New York later this week. If confirmed, the snowfall level in Redfield would surpass the previous record 10ft 7in which fell in nearby Montague over seven days ending in January, 2002. Houses swamped The snowfall has left behind surreal scenes in the affected areas, with one house appearing to be in a cocoon. Drifting snow in the front had swallowed the front door and blocked the windows. Roofs of other homes have buckled under the weight of the snow and 125 workers have been employed on 12-hour shifts to clear roadways. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/americas/6355981.stm

Mexican President Felipe Calderon's government wants to decriminalize first-time possession of small amounts of drugs in a move likely to draw criticism from U.S. anti-narcotics officials. Under the proposed legislation, users found for the first time with 2 grams (0.07 ounces) or less of marijuana and small amounts of other drugs ranging from cocaine to methamphetamine would not be prosecuted. The bill passing through Mexico's Senate on its way to Congress is a toned down version of legislation Calderon's predecessor, Vicente Fox, pushed through last year but later vetoed after angry objections from Washington. While the legally punishable amounts of drugs found on a first-time user are smaller than under last year's bill, the legislation appears to contrast with the tough stance Calderon has taken against drug-trafficking. Since taking office on December 1, he has sent thousands of troops to smuggling and production areas wracked by violence that killed 2,000 people last year and ...http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070213/ts_nm/mexico_drugs_law_dc